Who Is Responsible For John Proctor's Death

John Proctor’s death is ultimately caused by many things. Many of these things include John Proctor, the Proctor family name, and Abigail. John Proctor at the end of the play ends up dying with a good soul and forgives himself for the sins he has made. Over the course of the play, John Proctor grows and realizes all the mistakes he has mad. The first main contributor to John Proctor’s death is himself. One of the many mistakes Proctor has made was committing adultery with Abigail Williams. In this time period, adultery was very frowned upon. Sometimes the punishment for adultery was hanging. With John Proctor having this affair with Abby, made Abby fall in love with John but realistically for John, it was a one night stand. John Proctor had no emotional connection with Abby, Proctor says, “Abby, I may think of you softly from time to time. But I will cut off my hand before I’ll ever reach for you again. Wipe it out of mind. We never touched, Abby” (Miller 146). This line shows us how John Proctor does not want anything to do with Abigail Williams. …show more content…
John admitted to witchcraft because he cared more about his family legacy than himself. John did not want the burden to carry over his children and grandchildren. He was very unselfish in taking blame for something he was not apart of to save his family name. John also when asked to sign his name confessing to it he ripped the paper up. John said it would do no good for his family to suffer through the pain of his. This may show one that John has grown and not thought all about himself. John says, “ I have confessed myself! Is there no good penitence but it be public? God does not need my name nailed upon the church! God sees my name; god knows how black my sins are! It is enough!” (Miller